Travelling with cash
Overview
If you enter or leave the European Union (EU) at an Irish airport or port carrying cash of €10,000 or more, you must make a declaration to customs. Customs may check this declaration and the cash to ensure that the amount declared is correct. You may request a stamped copy of the completed declaration from customs.
If you travel to, or from, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands carrying cash of €10,000 or more, you must also make a declaration.
Cash includes:
- currency (banknotes and coins)
- cheques of any kind (including travellers' cheques)
- and
- money orders and promissory notes.
You must make this declaration in order to comply with European and national legislation and to deter illegal activities such as money laundering.
A customs officer may search for, seize and detain cash being brought into or out of the State if:
- the amount is €1,000 or more
- and
- the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the cash directly or indirectly represents the proceeds of crime, or is intended for use in criminal conduct.
Next: How to declare your cash of €10,000 or more